The Snake
by Praxis Antigone
Summary: As she is dazed, tired, and helpless, Meryl is ridiculed by Liquid Snake.


Dazed. Tired. Helpless.

Her eyes remained closed.  
>Her flamed nostrils flared open to smell the copper of her blood. The sight of her wounds would make her nauseated. Uncomfortable she felt. Inside her confined boots she wiggles her toes. Barely a wiggle. She arches her back a bit, soothing herself against the surprisingly comfortable mattress. A prisoner being comforted...<p>

She feels a hand grip (though not too tightly) her arm. A familiar hand. The familiar hand that swatted hers away from the uncomfortable feeling. That hand also tasted her jaw when it collided forcefully. She does not hesitate to smile at these thoughts. She'd knew he come.  
>She has yet to open her eyes. That smile does not falter when she reaches her shaking hand to grasp the comforting hand on her arm. Her delicate, harmless hands caresses that calloused glove. She feels the hand jerk, yet it stays in place.<p>

_Enough with the glass ceiling._

"Sna-Snake," she managed to croak from her dry throat. "I know that you told me to never doubt myself."

Her voice cracks. She shys from her memory of the communication tower.

"But I do. I screwed up so bad out there. I am so weak."

Salty water begins to form. Just a slit her eyes open, that embarrassing tear licks her face.

"I still want to help. I don't want to be weak anymore. With you by my side I can't," she squeezed that hand, "I don't want to slow you down, nor do I want to be ahead."

She chuckles and winces at her sensitive pain. She grasps the hand, tighter. "I don't know if that makes any sense. I'm trying to say I want us to be together." She feels the Snake shift awkwardly. Finally she continues, "Snake…I really care for you."

That crackle of pain snaps her eyes open accompanied with a hysterical scream. The alcohol sizzles against her wound.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

She's ready to release another boiling scream until a forceful hand shields her mouth. Her watery eyes are now in contact with those ocean blue eyes. Why? Why do those eyes carry such a differentiate tone? Hateful.

He shifts forward, his hot breath hitting against her skin. His blond locks of hair greeted his forehead. "Pathetic!"

_Oh no, I've been talking to…  
><em>  
>"Falling in love on the battlefield? Such feelings have no place."<p>

Liquid Snake is on the edge of his seat, bottle of alcohol in one hand. He insults more and she quickly scans her surroundings. A pale medical room; all four corners painted with white, medical equipment in various places. To her left was where Liquid sat.

That crackle of pain returns. She muffles a sound that never reaches its full audible. Her leg shakes uncontrollably, awakened by her burning thigh. "What makes you think you can just waltz into my unit and call yourself a soldier?" he ridiculed. "You and your silly feelings do not belong here."

The bottle of alcohol is replaced with a wrap of bandages . He needs his second hand. _Thankfully_. He removes his warm glove from my mouth and rips a long strand of bandage...

"Why are you helping me?"

He snorts, "If anything, you're helping me."

Meryl is dazed. "What?"

Liquid rolls his eyes and sighs. "I truly do not understand what my brother sees in you," Meryl cringed. _What does he see in me?_ "You're being kept alive for bait. That _is_what you're here for."

She had enough of his satirical comments. "Shut up!"

Liquid laughs, and he mocks, "Wolf was right indeed," he wraps the bandage on her arm and replies, "Worthless."

Bold and angry she became! "I am not worthless."

Yet he continued to wrap, laugh, and mock. "Now I understand."

* * *

><p>Still dazed, tired, and helpless.<p>

Minutes _drift_ and _drift_ and her ears were still throbbing and ringing. She no longer heard Rex's movement. _What happened?  
><em>  
>Her nose burned. Her skin felt hot enough to irritate her wounds. Coughing spasms began and unwanted tears welt up. The sound of boots. It's near and she hopes to God that it is Snake...<p>

No, it's Liquid, with a black cloth clutched in one hand. Behind her, he kneels and knots the cloth around her hands. She doesn't bother stuggling. Stuggling was useless.

"And now you will learn why showing such silly emotions on the battlefield is reckless." In his arms she is carried to Rex.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I wanted this to be longer. Didn't necessarily come out the way I wanted, but I think I got the point across. This was my first time writing for this section (I'm scared of messing with the MGS characters). I think I need a little bit more improvement, but this was just a free write from the top of my head. Anyway, I'm all up for constructive criticism.<strong>


End file.
